My Talented Friend

I just must show you the latest designs by my very talented friend, Barbara Ana in Spain. For several years she has designed her own charts and last year she started to sell them! The first is "Welcome Spring"

The second is "Spring Biscornu"This is amazing...to turn such a gift into a new career. I am so proud to know her. You can find her designs at Stitching Bits and Bobs and at the French site Creative Poppy.

Tried desperately to break my New Year's Resolution today. I went in search of the little round clips to make some floss tags. Apparently they are not as easy to find as I thought. I found just tons of rings in silver or gold tone in various sizes in the jewelry department, but these were the coiled up rings, like on a key chain. You know, the type that simply break your fingers off as your attempt to pry them open to get your key in there. This certainly would not do for use with the somewhat delicate cardboard floss card. Then I did find the exact rings I wanted; the hinged back and the little clamp on the front, but they were enclosed in a scrapbooking kit. It seems these type of ring clips are popular with the scrapbooking set to hold pages together rather then putting them in a ringed binder. Well, I wasn't about to pay the $20 for the entire kit just to steal the rings out of it. I did find one other floss ring in the needlework department of Hobby Lobby. It was 3 inches around and $14.99!! So the New Year's Resolution Fairy was watching over me and I bought nothing but a package of $1.29 DMC #26 embroidery needles.

Of Household Things

Not a lot of stitching going on in the past day or two. I did a bit on the "Olde Burial Ground", but not enough to merit a new photo yet. So I will show you a bit of the household stuff. Speaking of houses, that big white house at the beginning of a previous post is indeed our house. I know, it looks like something pulled from Hawk Run Hollow and is in desperate need of a paint job. I could use it as a model for a sampler house.............indeed there is enough cat fur in here to spin my own floss!

Raining again, so only a few brief hours outdoors yesterday. The cats are just itching to be out there, eating grass and then "returning" it to me on the living room carpet. The little carpet is only about 2 foot by 4 foot, but they can hit the mark every time. Luckily Bud the dog keeps his mess outside. He has a fine dog house that Joe built for him, but look at this beauty we acquired over the weekend. It comes from Joe's parents' new house. Infact, it matches their house exactly, right done to the yellow vinyl siding and the white trim. They don't have a dog so they let us take it here for Bud. So far we have only managed to wrestle it as far as the top of the driveway...it weighs a ton!

The Spring flowers are trying to make an appearance through the piles of wet leaves. My tulips and irises are well on their way and should be blooming over the next few weeks. I was pleased to see that my red 'hens and chickens' came back too. I don't know the official name for this plant but it has been a favorite of mine since childhood. Another pleasant surprise was my French Tarragon. I had put the ceramic container on to our porch during the first freeze in an attempt to prevent the ceramic planter from cracking. I had no idea that the entire plant would survive the Winter out there and now begin to sprout again. This is one of my favorite herbs (cooked with chicken it is wonderful) and I was sure I would have to invest in another expensive plant this Spring.

I must detach myself from this machine and attach myself to the sewing machine for a few hours. No cross-stitching today. There is the prospect of some doll clothes sales this evening at the gym so I need to "update the inventory". Any extra money coming in right now is truly a blessing, so I better get to work.

A happy Spring day to all!

Up To Date

I feel like I have really accomplished quite a bit in the few hours I have at home this morning before going to the gym. I have read my usual 8-10 blogs and tried to make a comment on each. As Barbara has said "this is the only way we can 'talk' to each other" (I hope I have quoted you somewhat accurately, Barbara). This is so true. I have met so many wonderful, talented, friendly and generous people through blogging. Yes it is a bit time consuming, but any friendship worthwhile takes a bit of time. I have gotten so many nice comments on my felt needle book. One would think I invented the idea. The poor old heart-shaped one I have from my mom has been hanging around for ages. I just thought this idea was rather old-fashioned, but it seems I have started a bit of a trend. I will honor it with a photo. As you can see it is well-used; the ribbon is tattered and it has collected more then it's share of cat fur.

I am currently working on Carriage House Samplings "Village of Hawk Run Hollow". I am certainly not bold enough to take on the entire village, so I am making only block #12, "Olde Burial Ground". It will be for a 'tombie' friend of mine who collects everything vintage Halloween. I bypassed all that stitching of the black background. Since I was only making the one square I chose a piece of 28 count linen that I had dyed gray with black splotches. I think it looks like a good 'ole creepy sky.

If Edgar is out there......I got the Hands to Work "Heart and Hand" freebie from a friend in Belgium. She mailed me the printed out pattern. I can certainly do the same for you if you would like the pattern. I miss a lot of the really good freebies because of my slow Internet connection. I just don't have enough hours in the day to sit and download all the great stuff that's out there. Generous friends have really helped me out. Dear Nicole also sent me the Mon Ami Pierre freebie that I have been obsessed with lately.

Another rainy day and 6 hours at the gym loom ahead. Well, at least that is 6 hours away from the refrigerator.

Finish-Finish

I took the Quaker themes from this weekend and started to finish-finish them. The first, the birds and topiary, are made up into a little needle book. It is based on a felt needle book that my mother made in the 1940's when she was a girl. I still use it for my needles today. The 'A Mon Ami Pierre' design is stitched to a piece of blue printed calico and then trimmed with cording. The pages of the book are colorful felt edged in blanket stitch using the same Needle Necessities floss "Bali Hai" that was used to stitch the design. This will be a gift to someone who shall remain nameless for now.

Back to the gym later today. I can only imagine what will go on this week, with it being Spring Break from school for the majority of the gymnasts. Good or bad there seems to never be a dull moment there.

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

I've been tucked away in the house both yesterday and today savoring every moment of my short holiday away from the gym. I do have quite a few photos to share though. I have been absolutely obsessed with Quaker designs these last few days. Here is a series from Mon Ami Pierre, all done in overdyed or variegated floss. The peacock is done in Needle Necessities 'Yuletide'; the birds and topiary in NN 'Bali Hai'; the swan in Weeks Dye Works 'Basil'(very washed-out photo) and the geometric theme in Dinky Dyes 'Aussie Pride'. I seem to be quite fearless in the use of my treasured speciality flosses lately. With the discovery of Threadworx I don't feel I need to hoard these lovely colors anymore. They can finally be used in actual cross-stitch projects instead of being 'display pieces' in a little plastic bag.

Several pet photos to share also. Bud on our walk yesterday. Elliot sunning himself in the front window. Alix proving that the kitchen table is a good place to throw one's coat. And Sammy who thinks the cat food tastes much better eaten out of the bin then from his dish.

Already after 9pm and I am just boiling some eggs to dye. I am a little behind schedule. I would prefer to be outside tomorrow, but I think we are stuck at Joe's parents' house. It is too cold to do much outside anyway..."Easter-freeze your keester" as my dad would say! At least the flood waters have gone down and I don't need to drive 25 miles out of my way to get into town. None of the major flooding came near our house, but it was rather inconvenient on Thursday trying to get to the gym.

A very Happy Easter to all!

Positively Drooling

Thanks to several kind bloggers I have found a replacement thread for Needle Necessities. In fact, I think it is the same thread going under the new company name of Threadworx. Thanks Barbara and Ginny for your help. I am positively drooling over the color chart at Needle In A Haystack (search the thread area for Threadworx). I have just now printed the whole thing out, using several gallons of expensive color ink, so I can take it into the living room and drool some more. This has satisfied my need to acquire new stash items. Even though I am not actually buying, I know they are out there and I don't need to rush around and find NNs before they completely disappear from the face of the Earth. Maybe I can hold out until July......maybe not.

Here is the latest finish, "Heart and Hand". I really love the results, although it is not quite a "traditional" Quaker in regards to color choice. I have started on another Quaker design. Actually it is one of the small themes within the large design "Quaker a 6 Mains" (excuse my horrible French) . It is a freebie from "A mon Ami Pierre". I am making the peacock theme as an ornament using Needle Necessities #151 Yuletide. I am suddenly no longer afraid to use up my stash of NNs! There are only a few stitches in on this project, so I won't post a photo yet.

Today I got some beautiful flowers from one of my junior team girls, Katelyn. Aren't they lovely? As soon as they are done blooming inside the bulbs will go out to the flower bed to be part of next year's Spring display.

Mandatory pet photo of the day. Twinsy, coming up our walk for his daily visit to the porch for some food. I know his family feeds him, but he seems to prefer our house.

Peaceful Rain

Although the weather forecasters are warning us about floods, I can only find peacefulness in all this rain. A chance to just sit and stitch for a while. It is moderately warm ( 46 degrees F) so I don't have to keep putting wood in the stove. Joe is home too, so it's kind of an "us" day. I am making some Easter treats. I made two pizza rustica pies last night. They were an Easter tradition in my house growing up. A pastry crust filled with ricotta cheese, ham and pepperoni filling....sort of like a cheese quiche, but a bit denser. Not a bit of nutritional value in any of it, but they sure taste good. One is already being eaten and the other goes to Brenda at work. Then maybe a chocolate cake for the gymasts. Speaking of work, it looks like this week will finish out in a peaceful way too. Not many kids at the gym as we gear up towards Spring Break for the local schools. Next week will be even more quiet. It's a good chance to work more individually with the gymnasts and to perfect new skills. My weekends are now all mine. The competition season is over for the Level 4 group so I am home on both Saturday and Sunday, unless I choose to go in and do some private lessons on Saturday. This all hinges on Jill fulfilling her obligations with the Level 5 group. They have the Zone/Regional Championships on the weekend of April 5th and 6th. I think my exact words to my boss were "I don't care if Jill catches on fire, she's still going to the Zones Meet". So I've made my point very clear on that one. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I know she will find a way to weasel out of it. She didn't come in on Wednesday, knowing that the new Level 4 coach , Alisha, would step up and cover for her. I felt bad for Alisha, but good for me. I love working with Alisha and I'm so glad to have a coaching partner who shares a lot of my goals and also a rather interesting sense of humor.

As for stitching, "Heart and Hand" is nearly complete. I loved stitching with the Needle Necessities floss. It is a shame that they have gone out of business. I should have bought up more of the colors when I had the chance. An eBay seller used to sell them in groups of 25 for a really good price. Now I can hardly find any of them anywhere. Does anyone know of a good source for Needle Necessities floss? There is a shop about 30 miles from here that specializes in needlepoint and interesting fibers. I bought my first NN there to fill in for a Weeks Die Works that ran out in the middle of a project. That is the main reason I like NN too.......the skeins are huge and the price is reasonable for all the floss you get. This works perfectly for single-color designs, like Quaker themes. I am debating whether to drive down to that shop and break my resolution if I can stock up on some rare NNs.

Here's the mandatory pet photo. Coal being the perpetual copy-cat again...trying to muscle in on Sammy's favorite spot on top of the fabric bins.